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In 2020, the NCAA granted an extra year of eligibility to all athletes whose season was interrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic. I wrote about how that caused a transferpalooza in tennis (and other sports) as many students took advantage of their added eligibility, often transferring and getting graduate degrees at other programs.  As we enter the third year of the transferpalooza era, I decided to award some transfer superlatives to the most eye-catching moves in women’s tennis. It was no easy task: there are 12 incoming transfers to 8 of the top 10 women’s programs – only #2 Oklahoma and #7 Texas A&M don’t have incoming transfers. Full list is at the end of the article.  Look out for the men’s superlatives next week!  Duke: Transfer U In 2021, Pepperdine was the undisputed winner of the Transfer U crown after it brought in NCAA semifinalist Janice Tjen (Oregon) and 3x All-American Vicki Flores (Georgia Tech). This year, Pepperdine brings in two excellent graduate tran...

You can listen to the inaugural episode of the No-Ad, No Problem podcast discussing this article on Spotify or Apple Podcasts ! In late June, less than a month after the conclusion of the 2022 NCAA Tennis Championships in Champaign, Illinois, the NCAA Tennis Committee met for their annual meeting. The 12-person committee, joined by NCAA staff and guests from the ITA and USTA, discussed a variety of topics ranging from mundane administrative actions to dismantling the current team and individual format. I read the meeting notes (and between the lines), so you don’t have to!  High-level takeaways on the meeting notes, consensus decision making, and TV In general, the notes are heavy on formality and feel intentionally vague on more consequential topics. On one hand, you get detailed information on the updated referee pay scale, but on the other hand, no viewership metrics from TennisONE, despite it being a topic on the agenda. Additionally, if you ever need synonyms for “group o...

There were two consistent topics of conversation on the grounds in Champaign, Illinois last month at the NCAA Tennis Championship: The facility (read: fence) Lack of TV coverage I’ve gone on record calling Illinois the “worst NCAA host site since 2010 ” and shared my disappointment with the lack of TV coverage this year, so I was probably hyper-focused on these two topics while on the ground in Champaign. Nevertheless, both topics are worth addressing more as we wrap the 2022 season. As expected, the Illinois facility was entirely unbecoming of a NCAA championship. The through-fence viewing is horrendous, rainy spring weather in the Midwest won’t allow for an outdoor championship, there was no pomp and circumstance befitting the apex of college athletics, and you could hardly even get concessions. All of that aside, we need to discuss the lack of TV broadcasting coverage for the event and where college tennis coverage fits in relative to other NCAA sports.  College sports broadcast...

We’ve reached the pinnacle of the season: the NCAA tournament. 2022 is the second iteration of the Super Regional format so I’ll share who I think advances to the final site in Champaign, Illinois. Who do you have on upset alert? What matches will you be watching most closely? Let me know on Twitter @JTweetsTennis !  Women’s Predictions In 2019, the first and only previous time the Super Regional format was used, all top 8 women’s teams advanced to the QF – it was totally chalk. The ability to host is a huge advantage for top 8 seeds and in many of this year’s predictions it’s ultimately the factor that tips a match to the home team. (1) North Carolina vs. (16) Florida Both teams looked strong on opening weekend. I was particularly impressed with Morra’s form at #1 for UNC; she was up 7-5, 4-2 over freshman sensation Sarah Hamner.  Upset Chance : 20% Upset Calculus: Florida has a pathway to win this match, albeit a narrow one. They need to win doubles, #1 Kessler, #2 Zein and ...